It's the Roman parable of the fasces, which has long been a symbol of European man. (Often the fasces is shown bundled around an axe, a symbol of unity in war. The first photo shows the fasces behind John F. Kennedy in the Senate chamber in Washington, the second shows the reverse of the US dime minted from 1916 to 1944.)

A man hands his son a stick, and asks him to break it. It breaks easily. "That is you alone, as an individual."

He then picks up two dozen sticks, each identical to the first one, binds them together in a bundle, and hands them to his son with the same instructions.

"They cannot be broken, father."

"And that is your lesson today, son. That is our people united as one."